


Misadventure

by LizzieHopscotch



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stargate SG-1, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Drama, Family, Family Drama, Family is a big theme here, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Political Science student Darcy ftw, Real Family, Switching Points of View, Timeline? What Timeline?, mild violence, this was meant to be a drabble wtf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 16:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9392681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzieHopscotch/pseuds/LizzieHopscotch
Summary: Jack came home to find a dead man on his sofa.Except he was still breathing.And bleeding.Darcy Lewis is estranged from her father, but events conspire to throw them back together.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So when I started this fic it was going to be 2000 words tops. 
> 
> Yeah.
> 
> Then this happened.

Jack came home to find a dead man on his sofa.

Except he was still breathing.

And bleeding.

 _On his sofa_.

Oh, c’mon.

He edged forwards, drawing his sidearm. As he got closer he could see the man was in really rough shape, and that someone had been trying to do a patch job on him.

The stranger’s eyes blinked open, and it took a moment for alarm to sink in. His eyes flicked towards the stairs before focusing on the man in front of him. Jack crouched down next to the sofa, resting the gun lightly on his knee.

“Now, then,” Jack said calmly. “Who might you be?”

The other man remained silent.

At that moment, there was a loud clattering from upstairs. Jack sprung up and moved towards the staircase, his gun up and ready.

“Clint! I got the first aid box, I think there’s some-” The loud woman ran down the stairs, nearly falling in surprise when she saw Jack.

“Dad?” she said. “What are _you doing here?_ You’re never here! I pinged your phone you _weren’t here_!”

“Darcy? The hell is going on?” Jack could just watch in confusion as his daughter slammed past him and towards the man (Clint) on the sofa. He would ignore whole pinging his phone comment. For now.  

“Wait? Dad? Darcy, you bought me to _your Dad’s house?”_ Clint hissed.

“Not everyone has secret farms all over the country!” Darcy snapped back.

“Not secret if you announce them to everyone!”

“Just shut up and let me put that bandage on,” Jack watched as his daughter manhandled the injured party, binding the wound with practised movements. His eyes narrowed. Just what was Darcy doing that she needed to know this?

“Besides he isn’t going to tell anyone,” Darcy’s acerbic statement brought him out of his musings.

“I’m not?”

“You’re not.”

“I’m not.” Jack spread his hands in surrender.

Clint huffed with laughter, flinching at the movement.

“Ow.”

Darcy pursed her lips and started to rummage back through the first aid kit. “There’s only some tylenol in here, Clint, I’m sorry.”

Clint waved his hand at her. “Don’t worry Darce, I’ll be fine in a minute and we can get out of here.”

Jack almost laughed at the tough guy act. Yeah right, how many times had he pulled that exact same stunt? Judging from Darcy’s look she didn’t buy it either. Smart kid.

“I’ve some stronger ones in the kitchen,” Jack offered. Darcy twisted and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Why would _you_ offer anything?”

Even Clint, in his pain addled state, heard the acid in that. Jack tried to ignore the fact he deserved it.

“Because if I give it to you, then you have to explain just what you’re doing here.” See he can negotiate. Danny would be so proud.

“Fine,” Darcy bit out, watching him expectantly. He left the room and came back quickly, not comfortable with leaving them alone. He couldn’t stop thinking that if he wasn’t quick they would vanish, while his military training nagged him about leaving two strangers alone in his house.

Darcy snatched the drugs from him and gave them to her friend, watching like a hawk as Clint slowly sipped some water before passing out.

“Kitchen. Now.” Jack ordered, walking out without checking to see if she would follow. She did of course, deal was a deal and he’d raised her better than that.

She leant on a counter and offered him a saccharine smile. “Yes?”

Jack stopped. What exactly could he ask her? What did he have the right to ask her?

They hadn’t spoken since the first Abydos mission. He could remember her trying to reach out to him after Charlie died but he couldn’t help her, too lost in his grief to remember his eldest child. Then the Air Force had come calling and he hadn’t looked back. When he finally returned it was to an empty house.  Sara told him that Darcy had left a few months before he saw his ex-wife and that she didn’t know where she was.

The last Jack knew of Darcy’s life was that she’d got into Culver University, and that was only because she was listed as a witness to some experimental weapon gone wrong incident.

Then she was gone again.

So really, what did he want to know?

 _Everything_.

Start small Jack.

“Clint?”

“I work with him.”

“ _Work_ , huh?”

“I hope you aren’t insinuating anything, that would just be embarrassing for the both of us,”

“Fine. Where do you work?”

“At a company.”

“And what are you doing here?”

“Patching Clint up after a bar fight.”

She folded her arms and stared him down.

“So according to you; you work with Clint at a ‘company’ and are here because you got into a ‘bar fight’. That right?”

“Yep.”

“So you decided to ping my phone and then come here?”

“About right.”

“And where did you learn how to ping someone’s phone? Y’know _illegally?_ ”

“Around.”

“Around?”

“Yep.”

“Are you actually going to tell me anything helpful?”

“Are you going to give me a reason to?”

“How about if you don’t I’ll kick you and your friend out, and trust me, he could use the rest.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about us being here, we’ll be gone by morning anyway. Wouldn’t want to get in your way,”

Jack sighed heavily. “You aren’t in the way, Darcy.” He offered her a weak smile. “It’s good to see you,”

And it was, it really was.

Despite the dead man sleeping on the sofa.

Darcy just glared at him and walked away silently. Jack scrubbed his face with his hands roughly before peeking into the living room. She was sitting on the arm chair watching Clint. If she saw him in the doorway she didn’t give any sign of it. He settled on a kitchen chair to think, but between one blink and the next he was asleep.

A shutting door startled him awake and he rushed into the living room to find it empty.

They’d even cleaned up.

He barely remembered heading to the mountain (where else would he go) and was almost thankful when he got a message from General Hammond to come to his office. Something to think about that wasn’t Darcy. How many times as he thought that over the years?

“Jack? You okay?”

Daniel. Daniel was here. Shit, okay.

“Sure thing Danny. Okie-dokie, absolutely fine.”

Smooth, Jack.

“Uhh, okay Jack. You just seem a little…off is all,” Daniel looked at him with concern.

“Daniel, I’m fine. My daughter came for a visit, that’s all.”

“You have a daughter?” Daniel asked in shock.

Right, he’d never mentioned Darcy.

“What, you never read my file, Danny-boy?”

“Not really,” Daniel confessed. Then he brightened. “Was it a good visit? What’s her name?”

“Darcy and it was fine. Can I go now?” Jack replied, perhaps a bit more snappy than usual.

“Yeah, sorry Jack. Urm, have a good meeting I guess.”

Jack nodded and stalked down the corridor. He’d apologise later. Hammond first. Then maybe some guilt drinking. Then apologies.

He scrubbed his face again and knocked on the General’s door.

“Come in!” Hammond called.

“Sir,” Jack said, standing in front of the desk.

“Why don’t you take a seat Jack,” George said, already anticipating the difficult conversation.

“You never say that when it’s good.”

George smiled. “Probably not.” He pulled together some files and handed them over.

“There’s a meeting coming up of various agencies tasked with protecting this planet. I want you to represent the SGC,”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“General, you know I don’t get along with those Washington types. I’ll do more harm than good!”

“But you are also one of our best, have helped us gain numerous allies and you’re my second in command. You know this facility and what it does better than anybody.”

“So does Carter! So does Davis!”

“They’re needed elsewhere. I know you don’t like these things Jack, but I need you to do this.”

“Alright fine,” Jack huffed. “Who am I meeting?”

The drinks and apologies would have to wait.

-Δ-

Darcy was unhappy.

Very unhappy.

Incredibly unhappy.

Frothing with bitter rage unhappy.

Clint wisely kept his mouth shut.

Honestly this trip had gone so wrong.

All Clint had wanted to do was visit an old circus buddy who had set up shop in Colorado Springs. Darcy, being the nosy lab assistant she is, caught wind of his trip and had practically invited herself along. Clint had considered dumping her in Philadelphia but Darcy had convinced him with chicken wings. The girl had a very comprehensive knowledge of great food places.

She put it down to food bribery being a science all of its own.

But he digresses.

The trip to Colorado was great, awesome food and country music and the chance to drive Darcy nuts with his bad bird puns. The visit with his buddy wasn’t bad either. There was beer involved. Then shots. Then he tried to teach Darcy to use his bow and she lost most of his arrows to the great outdoors.

Oops.

It was on the return journey that trouble found them.

Why, oh why, hadn’t he taken a quinjet?

Because SHIELD didn’t give clearance to old circus friends. Right.

So. Darcy had seen a dive bar advertising the ‘best burgers in the state’ so obviously they have to check it out.

They didn’t get to eat the burgers. It turns out that an old smuggler acquaintance of his, who he may or may not have accidently screwed over, also liked the bar’s burgers. And so instead of chowing down on beefy goodness, they ended up in a fist fight with the local tough guys who turned it into a knife fight. Clint and Darcy’s taser carried the day of course, but not before he landed a lucky hit along Clint’s side.

It wasn’t deep which was great, but it was also bleeding which wasn’t.

And this is the series of events which led to Clint to bleeding on Darcy’s dad’s couch while Darcy tried to set the couch on fire with her eyes.

Darcy had called Natasha earlier, and she was going to pick them up shortly.  

“Soooo…”

“No.”

“Okay then.”

They sat in silence listening for the sound of an engine.

While they waited Darcy silently cleaned the living room. It was different from the house she grew up in, but her father was predictable and kept things in similar places to before. Finding stuff wasn’t hard. She wiped the leather down angrily. She had wanted to avoid seeing her dad, she’d pinged his phone for that exact same reason. And if anyone wanted to yell at her for misappropriating SHIELD technology she might have to bite them.

By the time Natasha arrived Clint was moving more smoothly and there was no evidence of their visit. Jack hadn’t stirred from his place in the kitchen. Weirdly that made her even angrier.

They slid into the car, Natasha raising an elegant eyebrow at their behaviour.

“Good trip?” She asked.

“Fantastic.”

“Awesome.”

Clint met Darcy’s eyes in the mirror.

“I’ll get the story out of you eventually,” he warned her.

“Then eventually it’ll have to be,” Darcy sniped back. Natasha’s other eyebrow jumped up.

Darcy refused to look at them, staring out the window as the trees rushed by.

It was stupid, she knew it was stupid, but all the anger she thought she’d smothered into submission roared into life, burning deep in her gut.

She could still remember hearing the shot, sitting in her room at sixteen years old doing homework. She’d had her earphones in, hadn’t been paying attention to Charlie, more focused on some dumb history project. Dad was going to be home soon and she wanted it finished before then.

And then…

Afterwards her Dad wasn’t her Dad anymore. She tried to turn to Sara but the woman had just lost her son as well, and despite everything Darcy wasn’t her blood daughter. It was selfish, so fucking selfish, but she needed her Dad and _he left_.

Sara took her with her when she left her Dad which was kind of her, but Darcy couldn’t stay. She didn’t want to. Guess she and Dad had that in common.

Whatever. It didn’t matter.

It mattered a lot.

Her anger festered for days; events, conversations and disappearances playing behind her eyes on endless loops. She knew she was worrying people with her snappish attitude and unusually biting sarcasm. Jane had taken to obeying all requests to eat and sleep without question, Tony left coffee at the edge of her desk, Natasha offered to teach her how to fight with the bonus of getting to pummel on Clint.

Each act made her smile, a small balm against a ragged wound.

Fuck she needed to scream.

Loudly.

She almost took Natasha up on her offer, but ultimately decided violence wasn’t the answer.

This time.

She thought she was getting a handle on things when the summons came.

She fidgeted with her clothes as she waited, picking at her nails and smoothing her hair. She’d met Pepper Potts (Pepper Potts!!) before when she’d visited Tony in the labs, but never in her office. Not when she could be in trouble.

Oh god, oh lord, oh shit _fuck_ don’t let her get fired.

She knocked on the door.

It opened.

She went in.

Pepper smiled brightly at her.

Maybe she wasn’t getting fired?

Wait. Maria is here.

Darcy racked her brains trying to figure out what it was she’d done.

“You’re not in trouble, Darcy.” Pepper said.

Oh, thank god.

“Okay?” Darcy squeaked.

“Take a seat Darcy, we have an offer for you,”

“One I can’t refuse?” she joked weakly.

“One you can _absolutely_ refuse,” Pepper rebutted, glaring a little at Maria. It was a SHIELD thing then. SHIELD wanted her to do something? The only person she really had contact with was Coulson and that was mainly because she kept making the other agents cry.

Wimps.

“Okay then,” Darcy shifted in her seat. “What’s up boss?”

Maria cleared her throat.

“We would like you to be a liaison for SHIELD at an upcoming conference between SHIELD, a military agency and several world leaders.”

“Wait, _what?”_

“A liaison. You. For SHIELD.”

Clearly Maria thought small words was the way to go.

“Don’t you have people who are actually qualified for that?” Darcy asked, she may have finished her degree (eventually) but she had a grand total of zero experience.

“Yes, but those people aren’t best friends with Thor,” Pepper reminded her. “You know he still tells everyone about how you tased him in the desert?”

“I keep telling him not to,” Darcy pouted.

“He’s proud of it, wears it as a badge of honour. And then of course there’s the regular coffee dates you have with Namor,”

“Yeah he has a massive love for frappuccinos. It’s weird.”

But he does pay for Darcy’s muffin cravings so she wasn’t going to complain.

“And your work with Professor Xavier? Reed Richards? Stephen Strange?”

“The professor just wants good press, Richards needs to be herded out of SI before Jane hurts him, and Strange deserves every ego curbing comment ever.”

It occurred to Darcy this probably wasn’t the best way to convince them she shouldn’t be doing this. Or maybe it was. She talked too much. Was too sarcastic. Didn’t care enough for other’s opinions. really all she cared about was her band of Scientists and friends.

“And yet they all speak highly of you,”

“I bribe them with baking before kicking them out,”

“A valid diplomatic tactic,” Maria pointed out.

Okay new idea.

“What about my work with Jane?”

“You won’t have to stop that. I’m sure she’ll survive one week without you, and then you’ll be right back with her.”

“Promise me?”

“Absolutely.”

Half an hour later Thor found her on a balcony freaking out.

He sat with her in silence while she worked on controlling her wayward thoughts. It wasn’t the first time they had sat together in silence, and Darcy was just grateful for his warm presence.

“Pepper told me about the offer from SHIELD,” he said quietly after a while.

Darcy leaned forward, resting her head in her hands.

“What do you think?” she asked. Say it’s a bad idea, say it’s a bad idea.

“I think you shall do a fantastic job.”

“ _Really?_ I have no idea what I’m doing!”

“Darcy, you were one of the first people I met on this planet, and you made me feel welcome. Not just the first time, but every time since. You are a valiant woman I would be proud to have by my side in battle, and I would follow you through your trials and triumphs.”

She smiled at him, shifting to rest her head against his shoulder and he put his arm around her.

“Thanks, Thor.”

“You are most welcome.”

Darcy was reminded of that last time they had sat like this, Thor had returned after the chaos of the Tolkien Invasion of Doom and while everyone had been celebrating he had been oddly quiet. Darcy had found him that night, after everyone had fallen asleep, loosely holding a beer bottle and staring off into space. She remembered what Jane had told her, about Loki dying, and snagged a bottle to join him.

“What’s up big guy?”

“You should be sleeping,” he murmured.

“So should you,”

“I am a warrior of Asgard, I need far less sleep then you mortals,”

“You mortals? _Ouch_ ,” she held her chest looking at him with exaggerated shock. It worked. He smiled.

“Sorry. I would never dare think that you were anything less than fabulous, Lady Darcy,”

“Damn straight.”

They sat in silence for a while.

“My brother was eight when he died.”

“Darcy what-”

“He accidentally shot himself with our Dad’s gun.” She faced him fully. “I’m telling you this so you know I understand the pain of losing a brother, even if not the same. And I’ll probably never speak about this again, but I want you to know that if you ever want someone to listen then I’m here,”

Thor met her eyes, reading far more into what she was saying then she ever intended him to.

“Like no one was there for you?”

“Mmmmm, my parents had their own grief to deal with and I slipped through the cracks a little. My stepmother tried, she did, but I wanted my dad and he just…checked out. Last time I saw him he was walking out the door for a suicide mission for the Air Force. But it’s not about me Thor, it’s something I can do for you.”

Time slipped by again as they fell into silence, one beer becoming three then four as they steadily drank.

Darcy was falling asleep on Thor’s shoulder when he spoke again, the words rumbling through his chest.

“Loki was quiet…but he was so fierce in defending what he believed in and the people he cared about. Everything he did, even if it was in a way I didn’t recognise, it to protect me. I know that now even if I – even if I didn’t see it then…until he just snapped. And my brother was gone.

“Darcy, I don’t know when my brother died because sometimes I didn’t recognise the man wearing his body.”

She held still as his shoulders shook, letting him have a veil of privacy as he cried.

-Δ-

Kinsey poured a tumbler of scotch, watching the evening through his large office windows. It was a little premature perhaps, but he was confident.

This time he would succeed.

It wasn’t about shutting down the Stargate Program now (though he still disagreed with some of its principles) but about controlling it. The people in charge were far too lackadaisical with the safety of the planet and they had to be removed from the situation. Starting with Hammond and his rag tag bunch of misfits.

Carter would be relegated to the science division and would be lucky to see the Stargate again, let alone travel with it. Jackson would be moved to Area 51 with the rest of the useless relics. And the alien would be given over to scientists, buried deep underground and far, far away from anyone who could be bothered to learn his name. Where he would finally be useful.

And O’Neill? It was time he retired.

Permanently.

Yes.

This time.

-Δ-

Dressed in his dress blues Jack walked the halls of the non-descript government building. Purposely designed so no one knew of the confidential happenings within, the staff and visitors blended seamlessly with the rest of the companies occupying the space. And in Washington DC no one really blinked twice at a military man wondering around.

He strode calmly down the corridor, even though he was probably going to be a little late, he wasn’t going to give these bigwigs the satisfaction of seeing him hurry. He had faced down Goa’uld System Lords, negotiated treaties, took steps to being the Fifth Race and obliterated Replicators.

Hurrying was for those not Colonel Jack O’Neill. 

He was last to enter the room.

Nods and a few friendly words as he sat down, taking in those present. There was Colonel Chekov of course, as well as a British woman and a Chinese General. Australia had decided not to send a representative of their military, instead choosing to rely on their British allies. And then there was…Kinsey. Oh joy.

“Is this everyone?” the senator asked coldly.

“No,” said the British woman. Her plaque said Kate Stewart, UNIT. “We’re still waiting for the SHIELD liaison.”

“Well we can’t wait around all day,” Kinsey said. “We should get started,”

“Is there a rush, Senator?” Jack asked dryly.

“I just don’t want to waste any time, we are all busy people after all. Now then, shall we?”

At that moment, in between the shuffling of papers and clearing of throats, that the door burst open and a young woman practically fell into the room.

“I am soooooo sorry! The room must of changed and I only just got the email! Hi, I’m Darcy Lewis, I’m representing SHIELD? I sit here? I’ll sit here. Hi, nice to meet you!” She turned to her neighbour General Liú and offered her hand to shake. She was ignored. Seemingly unphased she beamed at the rest of the room, opening her file and waiting attentively.

She didn’t look at Jack.

Which was good because he wasn’t sure he could control his face right now.

He was concerned.

Very, very concerned.

Darcy was working for _SHIELD_? _That_ was where she’d met this Clint? What happened to a company? SHIELD wasn’t a company, it was a black ops outfit for fucking weird shit!

This is terrible.

“Well since we’re all here, _finally_ , we’ll begin.” Kinsey ruffled his papers with forced importance. “I thought we’d begin with the Attack on New York.”

He droned on.

SHIELD was out of control!

They had brought threats to this planet!

They needed to be stopped, to have oversight!

Throughout it all Darcy remained silent, diligently taking notes with a…sparkly pink pen?

“And then, after bringing these threats to our door they unleash bigger ones. I ask you, where does it stop? Ms Lewis, care to share any insight?”

“From my experience, Senator Kinsey, the Avengers are a group dedicated to planetary protection, and I think it’s unfair to judge them from this one incident,”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing that I have a plethora of events to choose from, for example-”

“Is this really necessary? SHIELD is a US based organisation, surely you can take care of your own business without all this fanfare?” General Liú interrupted.

“Yes, I do agree,” said Ms. Stewart.

“I suppose UNIT has no problems whatsoever?” Kinsey sneered back.

“Any problems UNIT encounters are solved in house without any of this…showmanship,”

“Ah yes, you and your Doctor friend,”

“He does get the job done,”

Jack could admire Ms Stewart. She was one cool customer.

Kinsey scoffed and turned to Jack.

“Very well, I’d like to examine the events that have been occurring within Cheyenne mountain as part of the Stargate Program,”

The SGC was out of control!

They had brought threats to this planet!

They needed to be stopped, to have oversight!

“Excuse me, sorry for interrupting Senator, but I was under the assumption that this meeting was to facilitate greater communication between all our agencies? So far all that has occurred is you accusing everyone at this table of gross negligence.”

Go Darcy!

Jack could have cheered.

“I agree, senator,” he said instead as Liú nodded.

“Sort the domestic incidents in your own time, don’t waste ours, Kinsey.” Stewart added. “We are, after all, very busy people.”

Kinsey huffed.

Jack clapped his hands.

“So! Ms Stewart (“Call me Kate,”) how can the SGC help UNIT?”

The meeting moved quickly after that.

Kate took over chairing it with grace when it became apparent Kinsey was far more interested in derailing the meeting for his own agenda. Darcy was a bright and intelligent presence, gently offering SHIELD assistance where possible, and making suggestions for greater partnerships.

It looked like Kinsey wasn’t the only spanner in the works at this meeting though. Chekov had got a bee in his bonnet about a Soviet program that Jack had only heard about in whispers. Terrified whispers.

“The Russian government demands all return of the research materials before they will continue working with SHIELD,” he blustered.

“I’m afraid that any ah _research material_ from that project was destroyed,” Darcy replied coolly.

In the tense silence that followed Chekov fumed, his face turning a strange shade of puce as he threatened some more. Kate shifted her chair away from him.

“Will the Russian government be demanding anything else or will they continue to be satisfied with their current arrangement with SHIELD?” Darcy interrupted him, cutting him off mid-tirade.  

“We shall contact you at a later date.” Chekov conceded, finally recognising that he would get nothing from the young woman across from him.  

“Wonderful. General, I remember reading about new engines for space craft. Would you be able to elaborate?”

Yes, Jack was sure Liú would be very happy with the outcome of this meeting, as he was gaining more and more intelligence to aid with China’s growing space program. It would not be long before they demanded representation within the SGC to match Chekov.

Jack was not looking forward to that particular minefield.

“Well this is all very well and good but the fact remains that the leadership of SHIELD and the SGC leaves much to be desired. I’m really not sure how effective all these new measures will be without a severe shakeup,”

“Hey now-!”

“Senator Kinsey,” Darcy interrupted before Jack could say anything he could be dismissed for. For the first time in the entire meeting her eyes were flinty and her easy humour was gone. The pink pen sat forgotten on the pad. 

“Senator Kinsey, in every incident you have cited here today you have blamed everyone except those directly responsible. Threats to this planet do not occur due to a single group, but because we as a whole lack the capacity to defend ourselves. The people in this room have the best chance of rectifying that. And then of course there are those who escalate the incidents. The Battle of New York ended with a nuclear missile being fired at one the most densely populated cities on the planet, and it was only Iron Man’s actions that prevented an unprecedented tragedy. And he is one of the people who you have repeatedly said needs to be tracked and registered as a threat.

“In fact, you, yourself I believe, have been directly involved with several potentially earth shattering threats solved by the SGC, and every time in all the documented reports one thing have been clear. You have been nothing but a hindrance to planetary safety. You consistently make calls based on your own self-interest and to build your power base. Quite frankly Senator, _I don’t know why you’re here_.”

Stunned silence.

Jack was so proud.

-Δ-

Darcy had never been so terrified.

Actually, no that’s a lie.

She was more scared during the whole Malekith incident. And when a Flaming Robot of Flaming Death invaded the Land of Enchantment. And when she was hiding in the subway from the Chitauri. And when that giant massive spider climbed out the shower drain.

Whatever this came a close fifth.

She knew he was going to be there of course she did that was obvious from the moment she got the files detailing the parameters of every organisation.

What the fuck, Dad.

She needed a drink.

A large drink.

Several large drinks.

Maybe even some with cute little umbrellas.

And now the meeting was over and everyone was leaving, she was briskly walking (not running!) to where Natasha was waiting to take her to the Quinjet. She wasn’t ready to confront him. Not yet. She had avoided looking at him all meeting, even when he supported her points or was speaking to her directly. He was nothing but politely distant and professional and she was thankful for it.

Speaking of the meeting, she thought her heart would burst out of her chest when she entered that room. And then that damn fluffy pen was the only one in her bag that was working! Oh, god it was embarrassing.

But it was worth it for Kinsey’s face when she shut him down.

Soo satisfying.

She thought Jack thought so too.

She wouldn’t know though of course because she does _not want to talk to him_.

Jack is following her. He’s not subtle about it.

Natasha startled as Darcy practically dived into the car. Later Darcy would count it as a win, surprising the Black Widow and not ending up dead.

“Where’s the fire?”

“Behind me,” Darcy snapped. Natasha’s eyebrows rose. Darcy had been causing that reaction a lot lately. She scrubbed her face sighing. “I’m sorry, sorry. Please? Can we just get out of here?”

The spy nodded, obediently putting the car in gear and pulling into traffic. Darcy peeked behind them to see a black government van follow them.

Natasha noticed.

Of course she did.

“Do I need to call Clint?”

Clint was on standby for this little outing. The two of them had taken it on their selves to provide Darcy with any security, especially since the third kidnapping. Darcy had paid them back in baked goods, even though she was pretty sure she could never pay off the debt.

“No, no it’s nothing like that,” Darcy sighed. “Tasha? Can you pull over at the next gas station?”

“Sure, Darcy, but why?”

“I think my dad is in that car,”

“I see.” Natasha paused. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I have no idea,”

They pulled over to a stop and waited.

Jack’s car passed them by.

Darcy told herself she wasn’t disappointed.  

-Δ-

SHIELD falls.

Darcy doesn’t go back to working with Jane.

Jack shot five friends.

-Δ-

Jack never thought he was a coward until he passed by Darcy’s car. He would tell himself it was because Daniel called, but it wasn’t not really. He saw Darcy pull over, saw the opportunity it was, and let it pass him by.

And now too much time has passed to fix it.

He told himself that he was giving her space after a tense meeting, a chance to decompress and relax. He told himself that he would call her.

He would.

After this briefing.

After this mission.

Once the labs had been secured after that spill.

He’d call her.

After.

And then a month became three, and he still hadn’t called her. Of course, he told himself on the nights where sleep was hardest to find, she could call him. It didn’t have to be a one-way street after all. then morning would arrive and he’d remember that he’d never given her a reason to. Hell, she’d gone out of her way to make sure she didn’t see him on that surprise visit of hers. 

He’d kept an ear out of course, greedily collecting any news on Darcy he could. The last he had heard she was working within Stark Industries as a liaison for certain groups and individuals. Dangerous ones. Ones that had General Ross practically frothing at the mouth.

There was a part of him that wanted to see what Darcy would do when confronted with the man.

The other wanted to bundle her up in blankets and protect her from the danger she was putting herself in.

Daniel, being the absolute blabbermouth he was, had told the entire team about Darcy. This was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because none of them held it against him if he was a little more snappy than usual. It was a curse because Carter and Daniel were giving him _looks_ and Teal’c had taken to mentioning how sad he was about not seeing Rya’c as much as he would like to.

Subtlety was not a trait taught to Jaffa. 

He strode through the hallways of the SGC towards Daniel’s office to drag him to the commissary. Honestly if he didn’t then Daniel would just sort of moulder in there until he collapsed from hunger and then Janet would yell at Daniel before yelling at _him_ for not looking after his team properly.

Maybe he should stop by Carter’s place as well.

At least he could trust Teal’c to take care of himself. Eat some food, get some sun, do his Kelno’reem. Maybe he could get the big guy to teach the other two. ‘Taking care of yourself so Jack doesn’t have to 101’.

He smirked as he neared Daniel’s box room of stuff, (“They’re _important_ , Jack! They could _revolutionise_ how we view this culture!”) he wouldn’t admit to liking taking care of his merry band of ducklings. That would just encourage them.

(Five weeks after the formation of SG1, Daniel and Sam had sat down together in a small, out of the way bar and had a long conversation about his tendency to show up at random times and drag them out for food. Jack had no idea this conversation occurred, and probably never would, although he would sometimes tease them about the time they came to work so hungover they followed him willingly to the commissary for a greasy cure all.)

His phone rang.

A glance up and down the corridor told him that no it really was his phone ringing. Which was strange because the last he checked the only people with this number were in the base and would be able to find him quite easily. Commissary, Daniel’s office, Carter’s office, Hammond’s office and the Gate Room. Very easy to find.

“Colonel O’Neill.”

“Jack, how are you?”

“Who is this?” he demanded. He knew that voice, he just couldn’t place it.

“Why Jack! I’m offended! After all, you’ve been to my home. I thought I made a better impression. You certainly made one on me,”

“ _Kinsey_?”

“At last! You remember! Now, Jack, I’m going to ask you to do something. I know you aren’t very good at this, but I want you to _listen_. Can you do that?”

“What do you want, Kinsey?” he snarled.

God, he hated this guy.

“I just told you; to _listen_ ,” the senator paused, followed by the sound of thumping flesh and a choked gasp. “Did you get that, Jack?”

“I got it, Kinsey, you got some poor schmuck and you want me to feel bad,” he jogged down to Daniel, waving to get his attention before signing to fetch Teal’c and Carter, before heading towards Hammond.

“Schmuck?” Kinsey laughed. “Is that any way to talk about your own daughter?”

White hot rage across his vision.

“ _What.”_

“Going deaf in your old age? I know a great hearing specialist if you’re interested,”

Another pained gasp.

“Stop it,”

He reached Hammond’s office and barged in without knocking, gesturing wildly at the phone in the face of the General’s outraged expression. He grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled quickly.

_Kinsey._

_Darcy._

“I’m sorry Jack, these boys are rather rough and your girl is just so darn lippy. I’m not sure I can stop them,”

“Dammit, Kinsey, let her go!”

Daniel and the others trailed in, keeping as quiet as possible.

“Let her go? Why would I do anything like that? When I have such a _fantastic_ bargaining chip?”

The pen in his hand cracked under the pressure.

“What do you want?”

“Well, that’s a long, _long_ list, Jack. I want a steak dinner, a cabana on the beach, and you retired and fishing. What do you say?”

“Fine, whatever you want. I’ll retire and buy you dinner, just don’t hurt Darcy. _Please,_ not my kid.”

“Wonderful, now, just to prove how much you care I want you to do something else for me,”

“Just let her go!” Jack snarled.

“Now that wasn’t very polite. Poor Darcy left with such an example. Don’t worry I’ll make sure she doesn’t pick up any bad habits.”

A thin wail filled his ears.

“Darcy? _Darcy!”_

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing life threatening. Now. Bring me the un-redacted reports on the Atlantis Project, and I’ll let your darling daughter go,”

“Let me speak to her, _please_ ,”

“Oh, very well. Never say I never did anything for you,”

All he could hear for a moment was the sound of the phone shuffling from hand to hand, until ragged breathing filled the speaker.

“Hello?”

“Darcy! Are you okay?” Dumb question. “I’m coming to get you, hang in there okay?”

“Pfffft, literally at the moment, Pops.”

“What did they do to you?”

“Ah well.” Some coughing. “They started with the regular beat down, and then moved on to the classic finger breaking. My texting speed is going to be way down after this,”

“I’ll kill them,”

“That’s nice of you but – HEY!”

“Is that all you needed?”

“You’re a dead man,” Jack promised.

“I’m sure. Those papers Jack. Bring her to this address, I’m sending it to you now. We’ll meet you there in, oh say…two hours?”

“Kinsey!”

Nothing but the dial tone filled his ear.

“Jack?” Daniel said cautiously.

“Kinsey has Darcy. I’m going to go get her.”

“It is undoubtedly a trap, O’Neill.”

“Of course it’s a trap, Teal’c, but I’m still going.”

“We’ll go with you,” Carter said immediately.

“Now hold on. The SGC has no jurisdiction outside this base, you know that!” Hammond interjected.

“And has that stopped us before?” Daniel rebuffed.

“George. It’s my _kid_. I’m going after them,”

The general sighed. “I’ll square it with the locals, get some support.”

“Thank you, George,”

-Δ-

She is going to kill Kinsey.

Kill him _dead_.

She’d been on her way back to Stark Tower from her favourite bakery. They did the absolute _best_ pastry and even Jane would stop to work for one of their Danishes. So good.

Then all of a sudden she’d been blindsided and pulled into a van not two blocks from the Tower. It was ballsy really, given the strong Avenger presence in the area, and she might even respect them a little bit for it if it weren’t for one thing.

They stole her pastries.

They even called them _mediocre_ for Christ’s sake.

Outrageous.

Now she hung from a pipe in a miscellaneous warehouse with a broken finger and Kinsey was there _gloating_.

She held on tight to the anger, lest she let the fear in the pit of her stomach consume her. Tasha and Clint had told her it was okay to be afraid, she only had to hang on until they came for her. And usually that advice worked.

When Hammer grabbed her? Out in fifteen minutes.

When AIM went for her and Jane? Half an hour.

When the Green Goblin held up a bank? Spiderman personally escorted her off the premises.

Point is, she was old hand at this. You get snatched, you get rescued, you do it all over again the next month.

She _shouldn’t_ be afraid.

But she was.

There was something about this guy.

All the others wanted something from her, and she could stall for time until the big rescue. This guy didn’t want anything from her. She was a bargaining chip, and not just that, but she had humiliated him in front of some very important people.

Fuck.

She can barely remember what she said to her Dad on the phone, her head feels fuzzy from the pain. She really wants to pass out but she also really doesn’t.

Dad said he was coming.

Need to be awake for that.

It hurts.

No, stop crying. Don’t let him see you cry, dammit you are Darcy _fucking_ Lewis and you do not cry.

She was crying. Her breath hitched too loudly, drawing Kinsey’s attention.

“Oh Miss Lewis. We could have been such good friends. And you just had to ruin it, didn’t you?” he lifted her chin slightly, smiling down at her. “But that’s okay. I have other good friends. And they’re going to help me get exactly what I want.”

“Good for you,” Darcy bit out.

“It is, isn’t it?” Kinsey wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “There now, don’t cry. I have someone to introduce to you. He’s on loan from the Russians, Chekov has been surprisingly useful. Please, come forward, into the light.”

Darcy watched helplessly as a figure stepped forward towards them. He wore a mask over the lower half of his face, but nothing could hide that arm.

“Sergeant Barnes,” Darcy breathed. “ _Bucky_ ,”

The Winter Soldier didn’t even blink.

“Isn’t he marvellous?” Kinsey beamed.

“You’re Hydra.”

“Mmm, not quite no. We just have mutual _interests_ , and with them I will finally have that sweet taste of victory,”

Darcy stared at him. For the first time since she got here the fear vanished, subsumed by the utter hatred for the man before her. This rodent didn’t deserve the oxygen he breathed.

“I hope you choke on it.”

“Don’t be so rude, Miss Lewis. You wouldn’t want our mutual friend here to snap another finger would we?”

She couldn’t help the full body flinch at his words. Kinsey smiled, baring his teeth, at the movement. He knew he had her cornered. She could still hear the sickening phantom crack from before. She thought it was a sound that would chase her into her dreams.

If she got the chance to dream after this anyway.

He waved his hands and Bucky melted back into the shadows, and with it went the energy she gained from the hatred of Kinsey. “Now then, we wait for your dear father to arrive,”

Stars burst across her eyelids as she was abruptly hit from behind. She slumped in her bindings before falling to the floor. She tried to stand but was shoved down again. A nameless goon grabbed her hand with the broken finger.

She shouted out as he set it, ripping the sleeve from her shirt to bind it.

Cheapskates couldn’t even spring for proper bandages.

Ice crept through her veins, even as her damaged hand burned from pain.

They had no first aid stuff.

Any hurts done to her here were meant to be…permanent.

She whimpered.

“Finally brought low, and in your proper place,” Kinsey said happily.

Don’t react, don’t react.

“Even on my knees, I’m way better than you are.” She spat.

He slapped her across the face.

Then again for good measure.

The goons dragged her up and across the floor, locking her in a makeshift cell.

She curled up around her hand, one eye on the door. She didn’t know how long she sat there, just waiting, but then the door opened again.

The sound shattered the silence of the cell and she jumped, jarring her hand.

She bit off the cry in her throat as three strangers were dumped in there with her, followed by a familiar face.

“Dad!”

She couldn’t help the relief flooding her system.

All four of them looked pretty banged up, but none of them seemed completely out of it.

“Darcy!”

Jack pulled her close, carefully curving his body so he didn’t touch her hand. He held onto her shoulders and peered into her face.

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay, I’m fine,” Darcy said quickly. The words ‘don’t worry about me, worry about getting us out of here’ went unsaid.

Jack sighed and bowed his head for minute.

“How did you get yourself into this mess?” he asked without thinking.

Aaaaand there went the relief.

“I’m sorry? It’s _my_ fault now that an insecure asshole kidnapped me to try and settle a grudge with _you?_ How does this work exactly?”

“Well if you hadn’t decided to work for _SHIELD_ of all things-“

“Show what you know, I don’t work for SHIELD!”

“Then what were you doing at that meeting?”

“I work for Stark Industries, Dad. They loaned me to SHIELD for the meeting. Not that it matters anymore,” she added bitterly. “SHIELD doesn’t exist.”

“Jesus, Darcy.” Jack rubbed his face.

“If it’s such a bother to you, why did you even come? You’ve not had any interest in my life for years I’m not sure what’s changed.”

“You’ve been kidnapped! Of _course_ I came!” Jack snapped back, the rest of his team forgotten. “And you vanished, Darcy! You left!”

“I left? _I left?”_ Darcy could hear her voice getting shriller. “You went on a _suicide mission_ , Dad! We lost Charlie and I wasn’t enough, so you went off to some other planet to _die!_ ”

Silence.

Jack stared at his daughter. She looked so much like her mother, except her hair, that she inherited from _his_ mother. She and Charlie had looked nothing alike, nothing at all. After Charlie died he thought that was a blessing, that he wasn’t being chased by another ghost. He remembered those days being lost in a haze of grief, of being consumed by guilt. He thinks maybe Darcy had tried to talk to him, to draw him out, but he had ignored her. Too wrapped up in himself to find time for his other child.

No wonder she felt that way.

“That’s not true,” he heard himself say.

“Don’t lie,” Darcy sniffed. She hadn’t ever thought she would say those words aloud, not really, and especially not to her Dad.

“No Darcy, Jesus,” Jack pulled her close again, holding her as tightly as he could without hurting her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I made you feel like that, god, you’re my daughter _I love you_ ,”

“I love you too,” Darcy mumbled against his shoulder.

God just saying those words was like a weight off her chest, and wasn’t that a cliché. Didn’t make it any less true though. It was almost like now, _finally_ , they could move forward. That jagged wound in her chest caused by her father’s absence was finally knitting itself back together one stitch at a time.

Someone behind them cleared their throat awkwardly.

Right.

They were in a cell.

With strangers.

“Um. Sir, I’m sorry, but we need to get out of here,” said the woman.

Darcy poked her head round her Dad and smiled.

“You guys must be Major Carter, Dr Jackson and Teal’c right?”

“Uh, yes,” Sam replied. Daniel waved from where he stood in the corner. “And you’re Darcy,”

“Yes I am.”

Darcy stared hard at Sam for a moment.

“Wait. Dr Carter? The astrophysicist Dr Carter?”

“Yes?”

“Huh, interesting.” Darcy blinked, finally properly registering the bruises on all of them. “Wait, what happened to you?”

“Kinsey had his men run us off the road,” Daniel answered.

“That was rude of them,”

“I know. Apparently, my retirement isn’t exactly what he had in mind,” Jack mused.

“Wait, what about those papers he asked for? Did you bring them?”

Jack gave her a considering look.

“I hadn’t realised you were paying that much attention to him.” He was impressed.

“He liked gloating. Did you?”

Jack shook his head. “No, I told him I couldn’t get them in the time frame.”

“O’Neill, I have successfully unlocked the door,” Teal’c said before the conversation could devolve even further.

It was like that triggered something in all of them, and Darcy could only watch as the friendly scientists and her father transformed into focused soldiers. It reminded her of the look Steve or Thor got sometimes when discussing taking out the next Hydra Base. Strangely it comforted her a little.

“Any guards?” Jack asked.

“Just one,” Teal’c confirmed.

“Alright, the day is looking up.” Jack clapped his hands. “Okay boys and girls, time to leave. Daniel, stick with Darcy, Carter and Teal’c cover us and I’ll take point. Ready?”

“Wait, Dad.” Darcy stopped them before they fully opened the door.

“What?”

“The Winter Soldier is here,” Darcy said quickly.

“He’s a myth,” Jack said dismissively.

“I think what happened in Washington proved him to be very real,” Darcy reminded.

“Okay,” Jack conceded. “Be on the look-out for murderous myths. On it,”

Darcy scowled at him, but he had already turned to Teal’c and was counting down silently. Daniel pulled her back to the wall and she went willingly. She understood what Jack was doing, protecting the non-combatants, but his disregard for her warning nagged at her.

They moved quickly and silently, and for a while it looked like everything was going to plan.

For a while.

They were passing by an empty office when they heard the raised voices. Their escape had been noticed and by the way the men were talking they would be discovered very soon. A few indecipherable hand signs later and Darcy found herself running down a different corridor with Teal’c, while the other three created a diversion to deal with Kinsey’s goons.

Teal’c studied the girl as they moved down the corridor. When O’Neill had confessed to having a daughter, the Jaffa had pictured a girl not unlike Carter in appearance, with the flippancy that was her father’s trademark. Instead Teal’c had been surprised to find a short, curvy woman wearing her heart on her sleeve. She moved slowly, no doubt because of her injuries, but she hadn’t uttered a noise of pain as they continued through the building.

Men spilled around the corner, approaching them quickly. Teal’c gently pushed Darcy O’Neill behind him to face them. O’Neill had placed a great honour on him, trusting him to protect his child. He would not let his friend down. The men went down relatively easily, in the close quarters they were wary of using their firearms. Teal’c took a moment to appreciate their concern for their fellows, he rarely saw it when faced with those who allied themselves with men like Kinsey.

One slipped by him.

He twisted to see the man slam Darcy O’Neill against the wall. She scrabbled against him, trying to find leverage.

A gunshot.

One of the last remaining goons had chanced it and missed, and Teal’c dispatched him in short order.

He moved quickly to where Darcy O’Neill was still struggling with her attacker. He noted that she had managed to injure him, and it was only her broken finger that was preventing her from fighting fully. He removed the man from her and knocked him unconscious. She was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

“Can you continue, Darcy O’Neill?” he asked gravely. If she couldn’t, he would carry her out of here.

“I’m okay,” she replied.

She pushed off the wall with a grunt and started moving, picking her way gingerly over the bodies.

“Lewis,” she said nonsensically.

“Excuse me?”

“My name. It’s Darcy Lewis.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I see.”

They ran into the others at the next junction.   

Literally.

Jack grabbed hold of Darcy’s arm and dragged her along with him, Teal’c falling into step behind Daniel and Sam.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

“I was wrong, you were right,” Jack said quickly, bursting through another set of doors. This place was a damn maze, where was the bloody exit?

“You saw Bucky?” Darcy demanded, almost coming to a stop except for Jack pulling her along.

“Yes, and he’s very, very dangerous so let’s not hang around, Darcy.”

“But-”

“ _No_ , Darcy.”

They ran down some stairs and into a garage. The five of them pooled into a jeep, and Jack frantically tried to hotwire it. He was moving too slow. Teal’c spotted him first, a menacing figure dressed all in black striding purposefully towards them. He tensed in the seat, ready to jump from the vehicle and cover his friends’ escape.

The car door opened.

The Winter Soldier didn’t stop.

Darcy jumped out.

“Darcy!” Jack yelled. “Get back in the car!”

“Bucky!” Darcy called, ignoring her father entirely. “Bucky I’m a friend of Steve’s.”

The man stopped, his dark eyes never leaving her face. He was an arms-length from her. If he moved to strike the girl there was no way for Teal’c to reach them in time.

“Bucky, please. You have to let us go,” Darcy continued. Jack kept on railing at her from inside the jeep, but he still hadn’t gotten the engine to catch and this was the only way she could think of to stop Bucky. Her vision was getting screwy from all the blows to the head, but she kept on desperately.

“Steve misses you. He doesn’t say anything, but he does. You don’t _have_ to help Kinsey and the others, Bucky, you have choices. You can be _free_ ,”

“Assets gain freedom through work,” the Winter Soldier intoned.

“You are a _person_ , not an asset,” Darcy spat. “You’re name is James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes, and you are a _good person_ ,”

The engine roared to life behind her. She took a few steps backwards and Bucky followed her.

“You know where I am, Bucky Barnes. If you ever need me, then you come find me, you hear?”

Hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the jeep.

“Don’t forget!” she shouted through the open door, it slamming shut as the jeep jumped forward. She could do nothing but watch as Bucky vanished from view, with no way of knowing whether he walked back into the building or out along the road.

She leaned against the door, the adrenaline of the day finally wearing thin. She could feel every bump, bruise and break and every jolt sent fire through her bones. Spots danced across her vision from the pain.

“Dammit, Darcy! You do not make friends with assassins!” Jack railed.

“Some of my best friends are assassins,” Darcy replied as she finally passed out.

-Δ-

Darcy was going to give him a heart attack.

First she tries to befriend the dangerous maniac, and then she passes out in the back seat!

He drove with little regard with any traffic laws, hightailing it towards Cheyenne Mountain. In the back Carter was trying to wake Darcy. He could hear her mumbling to herself, nothing coherent, but something.

“Come on, Darcy, stay awake for me okay?”

“Janey?”

Jack drove faster.

Hammond must have briefed the locals because they reached the mountain with no interference. He pulled to a stop and gathered Darcy up into his arms making his way to the infirmary. Behind him he could hear Carter calling it in. Janet would meet him halfway.

The doctor assessed her as soon as they met in the corridors, shining a light in Darcy’s eyes.

“Looks like a concussion,” Janet told him. “Darcy, Darcy can you hear me?”

A small sound.

“Darcy, I need you to stay awake, can you do that?”

Another grunt. Darcy cracked open her eyes briefly.

“Okay, we need to do a CT and see what we’ve got. Take her down please,” Janet told her staff before facing Jack fully. “I want you and your team in the infirmary, Colonol.”

Jack tried to protest. He needed to be there!

(Like he hadn’t been before)

“If there’s any news, I will let you know,” Janet said gently. “Infirmary, now Jack.”

He went.

His team were seated on their own beds, having their cuts and bruises tended to. Another doctor bustled around him, asking him to lift his arms, follow the light, say ah. He followed the instructions on autopilot, eyes focused on the door he knew lead to the CT scanner. As soon as he saw Janet he brushed the other doctor aside.

“Well?”

“Darcy has a mild concussion, but the sleep seems natural. It looks like she passed out from exhaustion. Her finger will be fine, we’re re-splinting it now as well as checking for any other damage.” Janet smiled gently at her most frequent (favourite) patient. “She’s a strong kid, Jack. She’ll be fine.”

Jack nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. A nervous gesture he could never quite contain around her.

“Where is she?”

“She’ll be out in a moment. Until then, General Hammond would like to speak to you,”

“I’ll wait here,”

“Jack, she’s not going anywhere. I promise to page you as soon as we’re finished, okay?”

“Fine, fine.”

He marched out of the infirmary, determined to have this finished with as quickly as possible.

The meeting with Hammond still took too long.

Two hours ( _two hours_ ) later he strode back to his daughter, to find her sitting up in bed contentedly munching her way through some jello.

“Sure you got enough there, kiddo?” he asked, taking a seat. The rest of his team were there as well, diligently standing guard.

“Are you kidding? There is never enough jello,”

“Definitely yours Jack,” Daniel teased.

“Like there was doubt?” Jack shot back.

“Indeed. Darcy Lewis is a capable warrior, she takes after her father well,”

“Awww, thanks big guy,” Darcy said.

“You are welcome,” Teal’c nodded.

Darcy focused on Jack once more. “Did they say anything about Kinsey, or Bucky?”

Jack shook his head.

“Place was empty when the police got there, no sign of either of them.”

Darcy scowled before her expression cleared.

“That’s fine, he’ll wait,”

“Wait for what?” Daniel asked cautiously.

“Wait for me to get home so I can set out chipping away at Kinsey’s entire existence until he’s destiture in the gutter, forgotten and alone,”

“You would allow your enemy to live?”

“He’s _Hydra_ ,” Darcy said forcibly. “Death would be kind.”

“I see.”

“Ugh.” She slumped back against the pillows. “Steve’s going to be so sad, I cannot with the Captain’s Sad Face. So not fair.”

“Wait. Captain Steve _Rogers_?” Jack demanded. “As in _Captain America?_  You know Captain America?”

“Yes, Captain America, Dad. You know any other Steve’s from the 1940s with best friends named Bucky?”

“ _Captain America?!_ ”

Darcy gave a long-suffering sigh.

His daughter knows Captain America.

That is so cool.

-Δ-

They had tentative plans for a lunch next week.

Barring any off-world shenanigans.

Or Avenger shenanigans.

Or Stark shenanigans.

In fact, when she thought about it, the list of potential shenanigans was quite high.

She decided not to think about it.

Maybe she should send Kinsey a thank you card, she mused on her way back to New York. It was after all down to him that they’d finally started talking again.

But first, she had some scientists to get back to.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! Finished! Hope you guys enjoyed it!
> 
> Much hugs,
> 
> Lizzie Hopscotch


End file.
